On August 20, as the UFC women's strawweight champion, Zhang Weili will welcome challenger Amanda Lemos in Boston.
On the eve of her flight to the United States, Zhang Weili was interviewed by The Paper - she said that the most important thing is to beat yourself, and no one in the octagon wants to hand over the results of the game to the referee.
Zhang Weili will face Lemos.
Never fight an unprepared battle
Since the UFC officially announced that Remus was the challenger in May, this matchup has attracted countless attention.
Leimos has comprehensive technology, speed and striking strength, and Sejudo, who has guided Zhang Weili, even bluntly said that Leimos is a greater threat to Zhang Weili than Ross.
But compared with the tension in the outside world, Zhang Weili is quite calm.
"Actually, I knew I would fight her a long time ago, and it wasn't officially announced at that time, and last year she fought before me [against Carla], and the UFC wanted to arrange for us to fight, and it just so happened that we were both final, so I was very calm when it was announced."
Peace of mind does not mean that Willy does not value her opponent, on the contrary, Lemos' ability made Willy notice her very early, "Almost two or three years ago, I watched her a match, she was not in the top 15 at that time, but from her performance I felt that she would definitely be able to play, and I vaguely had a hunch that there would be a battle between us, but I didn't expect it to really come." ”
Hearing from Zhang Weili's mouth, the outside world has another understanding of Lemos's super strength - of course, Zhang Weili will not fight an unprepared battle, she has come to Thailand to prepare for the war since March, according to Weili, everything is going according to plan, and she is in very good condition.
"We prepared a lot, everything the other person could think of, we all prepared, such as standing, wrestling, ground techniques, etc."
"In Thailand, it is mainly to polish the basic technology, make up for the shortcomings, and when it comes to the United States, it will carry out targeted simulation tactical training." Once the foundation is laid, it's about how to combine tactics on the field. ”
Zhang Weili wants to keep the belt in China.
End early, be safe early
From the flight to the United States on July 3 to August 20, there were up to six weeks between the flight, and arriving at the competition venue so early also shows that Weili attaches great importance to the competition.
From winning the belt for the first time and losing twice to Ross to regaining the belt, through the ups and downs, Willy has grown a lot over the years, and she knows how to take on new challenges.
"Everyone will encounter lows, life is not smooth sailing, the key is how you learn from your failures and continue to grow."
"In recent years, I have experienced a lot with the team, encountered different types of opponents, tried various ways to lose weight, and some interruptions from away games, and I feel more and more that the biggest opponent in life is myself, you have to think about how to grit your teeth and persevere when you are tired of training, and you have to open your mind when things don't go well..."
This is Wei Li's inner words, and she also summed up her feelings with the phrase "the winner is powerful, and the winner is strong".
It is worth mentioning that for this upcoming big fight, Lemos said before the game - he will not hand over the result to the referee. How does Willy feel now?
"I just did what I needed to do, prepared myself, and walked into the octagon with confidence. Training is to improve one's abilities, and competition is to improve oneself through communication. ”
It sounds like Weili is lightweight, but she also shows her domineering with a witty joke, "No one wants to judge [the result], they all want to end the race early, because it ends early, it's safe early." ”
Cross-border propaganda, happy for China's fighting
With Wei Li's brilliant achievements in the MMA field, she has become one of the top players in the Chinese sports scene, and many variety shows have also found Weili, such as her figure in the new issue of "Running Man".
"Before I went, I thought that everyone was not familiar with me and did not know about the sport, but after I arrived, I found that Li Chen, Huang Yi, and Fan Chengcheng actually knew MMA (mixed martial arts)."
When you say this, you can clearly hear the joy in Weili's heart - it is her greatest wish to better promote combat sports in China while striving for personal honor.
During the conversation with the surging news reporter, Wei Li also revealed that the recording scene of "Running Man" was very hot, and many fans gathered outside waiting for stars, even if the stars spoke louder and were heard outside, it would trigger high-decibel cheers.
"It would be nice when we MMA sports can also have so many fans." This was Wei Li's heart, and Fan Chengcheng responded to her at the time, "It will definitely be." ”
Zhang Weili participated in variety shows.
During the preparation of Weili, Wang Baoqiang's movie "In the Octagon Cage" also premiered recently, it is clear that under the leadership of the Chinese players led by Zhang Weili, MMA has gradually penetrated into the hearts of the people, and Weili is very grateful to Wang Baoqiang for making this movie.
"Brother Baoqiang met me in Beijing when he got the script and had not yet started filming, and I am very happy that he will make such a movie, which can let the public better understand the sport and our athletes through the movie, which is a very good thing for Chinese martial arts."
Zhang Weili revealed that Wang Baoqiang invited her to attend the premiere, but she was busy preparing for the battle and could only regret missing it...
It is foreseeable that the showdown on August 20 will set off another wave of MMA craze in China, and a fully committed Zhang Weili is worth looking forward to.
"I only focus on the game in front of me, the moment I close the cage, I don't think about whether my face will be beaten, I don't want to win or lose, I will only have the opponent in my eyes."